by Ella Miles
I glare at Hugo.
“Thank you,” Hugo says, realizing Zeke really meant to kill him.
“I didn’t save you for you.”
“I know.”
I follow Zeke out the door and back to his room for a brief second to throw his things in a bag and give me time to change out of pajamas and into Nora’s clothes. I didn’t bother to pack up my own.
Zeke doesn’t talk to me the entire time. Nora notices but doesn’t ask what’s going on between us. She also doesn’t ask why we are packing up in the middle of the night.
We got what we came here for—the phone. Hopefully, it’s enough to hack into their bank accounts to steal the money.
I look at Zeke, who will no longer meet my eyes. It’s going to take a long time for him to be warm to me again, if he ever does. In Zeke’s eyes, I chose Hugo over him. I didn’t.
I was choosing myself. Protecting myself. And if there was a way I could have chosen Zeke, I would have. But he wasn’t even an option. He will never be an option.
We ride a train and then a plane. This time I sit with Nora. There won’t be any sneaking off to go fuck in the bathroom on this flight—not this time.
When Zeke finally starts snoring in his chair across the aisle, I bury my head in Nora’s chest and let the tears fall. I got what I wanted. I got Zeke to claim me as his. I got one lovemaking session. Then it was all taken away a second later because of Hugo.
“Shh, it will be okay. You’re the strongest woman I know. And Zeke knows that. He’ll come around,” Nora says.
I am strong.
But Zeke won’t come around. That hurt doesn’t go away.
The good news is I’ve finally got the missing piece back from Hugo. Any love I once felt for him is now gone. The bad news is all of my heart belongs to Zeke Kane—a man who vowed to stop protecting it. A man who gave me one moment of vulnerability, only to take away any thought of love a second later.
I was hurt by Hugo. I paid for seven years for the pain Hugo caused me. But Zeke has the power to hurt me for forever. The love I have for Zeke is different than the love I had for Hugo. The love I had for Hugo only went surface deep, but the love I have for Zeke is down to the depths of my soul.
Hugo was a slimy man looking for his next lay. Zeke, whether he admits it or not, is the most loyal man and can only do forever relationships. He’s too loyal not to be with a woman who will one day become his wife.
And Zeke thinks I’m too disloyal to ever earn that title.
27
Zeke
The plane ride back takes a thousand hours. At least that’s how the nine-hour plane ride feels.
The distance between where Siren sat on the plane and I sat was less than ten feet. But it might as well have been an ocean between us. Neither of us looked at each other. Or acknowledged each other. We acted like strangers.
A complete one-eighty from how we behaved on the first flight.
But if I thought the plane ride was long, it was the easy part. Once we said goodbye to Nora, the truck ride back to my house was ten times longer.
Again we didn’t speak. Or look at each other. We sat in silence. But that didn’t mean we both weren’t thinking about the other.
I’m missing something. I know I am. But what?
In the bathroom in Paris, Siren would have told me anything. She would have told me the entire truth. She would have vowed to be on my side—declared her love forever.
When we were making love, it felt like that’s what we were doing.
But the second we stepped out into the bedroom, everything changed. I no longer felt like Siren and I were on the same team. We were all on different teams. All fighting for ourselves.
Then Siren chose to save Hugo.
Is that her thing? She just likes saving people? Even scum like Hugo?
Or does she still love him? She said she didn’t, not anymore, but I can’t figure out why she won’t let me kill him, especially after what he did to her that night.
A part of me says I should have done it. I don’t take orders from Siren. And Hugo deserved to die more than most men I’ve killed.
But I looked in her damn eyes, the same soft, warm eyes that fell apart at the pain he did to her. The same eyes that held my entire world when I made love to her. And I couldn’t betray those eyes.
So Hugo lives, for now.
I need to know why she saved him, for my own sanity. But I have to protect myself. She can’t keep hurting me. And whether for self-preservation or because she’s devious, she keeps lying to me by hiding the truth. She may not lie with her words, but she lies by hiding the truth, which is just as vile.
I sling my bag over my shoulder when we get to my house. Siren waits for me to unlock the front door before entering, which is unlike her. But she doesn’t wait for me to invite her in once I open the door.
I head to the fridge and pull out stuff to make a sandwich. I’m starving. Before I realize what I’m doing, I make one for Siren.
She sits down at my dining room table with her laptop and two coffees. When did she make those?
I put one of the sandwiches in front of her. Then I sit down kitty-corner to her with my own sandwich and drink the coffee she placed in front of me.
Neither of us thanks the other for getting the food and coffee. Our eyes both betray us, saying our thanks anyway.
I pull out Mr. Martinez’s stolen phone.
We stare at our electronic devices for a second as we drink some of the coffee and eat part of the sandwiches. Then we get to work, still in silence. Siren on her laptop. Me on the phone. Both of us doing business without words.
I pull up Mr. Martinez’s bank account on the phone. It has over a billion dollars in it. She picked our target well.
She looks at it and types some more into the computer, probably pulling up Julian’s bank information so we can make the transfer.
Her job is easy since Julian gave her the information needed to make a transfer.
Suddenly her mouth drops open.
“I, um…” she speaks for the first time.
“What?” I ask, my first word to her since leaving Hugo in the Parisian hotel room.
“Julian gave me an empty bank account to make the transfer into. But I was nosy and had some time on the plane, so I’ve been working on hacking into his main bank accounts and…”
She turns the computer screen so I can see what she’s looking at.
“Holy shit,” I say, my jaw dropping to the floor and my tired eyes widening at the sight of the number on the screen.
It’s a huge number. Like Bill Gates big. No, bigger. Like Jeff Bezos big—no, double that.
What is Julian Reed up to? Or better yet, who is Julian Reed? He’s not the small-time drug dealer turned human trafficker I thought he was. This man is loaded. He has more money than my old boss Enzo Black ever dreamed of having.
Julian is more dangerous than I realized. Has he been playing me all along? He sure as hell doesn’t need the billion dollars we are transferring to him.
I look at Siren, studying her reaction. She’s a good actress, but the shock on her face looks real enough. And she’s doing more than just staring; she’s running her hand through her hair, she’s grabbing at her chest like she’s having a panic attack. I don’t know how you fake that.
“Siren? Are you okay?” I ask, standing as she does, prepared for her to faint or be sick.
She nods. “Um…can you finish the transfer?”
“Yes, but—”
“Good. Make the transfer, and then tell Julian we finished the task.” She starts walking toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m sorry. I have to go,” she grabs the door with sorrow and fear in her eyes. She’s gone, without a word or explanation. I’m left to deal with finishing the job, the shock of this new information about Julian, and the unanswered questions that always arise with Siren. For every answer I get, I end up with more questions.
&nb
sp; I stare back at the computer. I need to finish. Transfer the money into the empty account and act like I don’t know Julian has money. I need to make sure Lucy is safe ASAP.
Then I need to do more digging into Julian Reed. Because if he’s after Enzo Black and our family, I’m not sure we are going to be able to stop him.
28
Siren
Everything I thought I knew was a lie.
Everything.
EVERYTHING.
I thought Julian Reed was an evil man.
I thought he was a drug dealer.
Sometimes a human trafficker.
I thought he made above-average money, more than any normal person needed to survive.
I thought he had power, but that it was limited.
All of those facts are wrong. None of them are the whole truth.
Julian Reed is worse than evil. I always thought of him as the devil, but now I know he’s the richest devil in all of history.
He may be a drug dealer, but you don’t make that kind of money selling drugs from a tiny island.
He may sell people, but not billions of dollars worth of people.
And Julian’s power isn’t limited; it’s far-reaching. He may be the most powerful man on the planet. If another person has more money than him, I’ve never heard of it.
How?
Why?
How did I not know Julian Reed has this much money and power? Because he doesn’t act like it. He acts like he’s just growing his business. Like he isn’t the most powerful man in the world.
Maybe it’s because he isn’t? Maybe he’s just holding onto the money for his boss?
But Julian Reed doesn’t act like he has a boss. I don’t think he could handle having a boss. But I also didn’t think the man was capable of having this much money.
It doesn’t matter what I assumed. It doesn’t matter that Julian manipulated me as much as I manipulate other men.
I need to put all of that aside. I have more important things to do now that I know this information.
I need to find out everything I can before Julian realizes I know about his wealth, which could only mean a few hours with the resources he probably has.
Most importantly, I need to find a way to protect as many people as I can. And I know exactly who I’m starting with.
29
Zeke
“The billion dollars is in your account,” I say to Julian. We are standing on his back deck while Julian smokes a cigar and looks out at the view of the ocean. This isn’t his usual spot, but it is a particularly nice day. I guess I understand why we are outside enjoying the sun.
But I can’t enjoy anything. Not until I protect the people I love.
“Excellent work. You did that quickly. Three days? Impressive.”
“You aren’t even going to check your account balance?”
“Aria sent me the bank report earlier today. I already checked.”
Siren.
I haven’t seen her in twenty-four hours. Has she been here this whole time? Or did Julian send her on a mission?
“What did you do to Lucy? Where is she?” I ask, trying to keep the anger out of my voice. I need answers, not revenge.
After I transferred the money, I immediately got in contact with my guys closest to Seattle. They went in search of Lucy. But she was already gone—someone got there first.
I should have moved her sooner; the second Siren gave me her address. I didn’t want to disrupt her life unless I had to, but it was the wrong decision.
Julian puffs on his damn cigar. I want to shove it down his throat and suffocate him with it.
“Seattle, as far as I know. I brought my team back when Aria agreed to the date. I kept my word and haven’t gone after Lucy. Once I make a promise, I always keep it.” He exhales a perfect circle of smoke.
I pull my gun out and aim it at him. I’m done being nice. I need answers.
“Where is Lucy?” I ask again.
He shakes his head. “Shoot me, and you’ll never find out. If you want me to find Lucy for you, we can make a deal of our own.”
Julian doesn’t seem the least bit scared at the sight of my gun. I’ve threatened him too many times without actually killing him.
Dammit.
I lower my gun. “I’m done making deals with you. I’ve made my last deal. Two down. Three to go.”
“Ready for the next round?” Julian asks with a grin. He knows I’m not ready until I figure out where Lucy is.
I ignore him and walk out. I’ll get every contact I can find that has nothing to do with Enzo Black looking for Lucy. But I suspect they won’t find her. Whoever took her hid her well.
I walk out of the house toward my truck when I spot Siren heading toward Julian’s house.
It all clicks.
“Did you move Lucy? Did you take her?” I ask, my voice threatening. No one touches Lucy without paying the consequences. Not even Siren.
“Yes,” she answers without hesitation.
I grab Siren’s arms and push her against the side of my truck.
“What the hell? Why?”
She winces but doesn’t immediately answer.
“Where is she?” I ask, almost losing it.
“I can’t tell you the—”
But I don’t let her finish. The second she says she can’t tell me, Siren becomes dead to me.
Siren told me her truth; now it’s my turn.
“I’ll kill you if you hurt her. I’ll kill you if she gets hurt because of you.”
I release her.
“The only reason you aren’t dead right now is so I can torture you to find out where she is.”
The words are my truth. I promised Lucy a long time ago I’d kill for her. I never thought that I’d have to kill someone I care about, though.
As I speak the words, as I hear them, as I see the defiance in Siren’s eyes, I know my words aren’t true. I can’t kill Siren. But I can’t break my vow to Lucy either.
I don’t have a choice. Someday soon, I won’t be able to protect them both. I’m going to have to choose. And for a split second, I’m not sure which woman will survive.
30
Siren
I moved Lucy. Not for whatever devious reasons Zeke is accusing me of.
I moved Lucy to keep her safe. I didn’t have a choice. I don’t trust Julian, not anymore, not with anything. Not even with his promises.
Lucy needed to be moved. She needed to be moved securely and quickly and with as few people as possible. She needed to be moved to the furthest corner of the earth. She needed to be moved by the best people.
Zeke could have moved her. But he didn’t. I know he was preparing to. To avoid contacting his old world and Enzo Black, he was going to have her moved by people that have no connection to his family. I’m sure they are good men, but not the best.
This job required the best, and even that might not be enough to hide her from Julian forever.
I can’t tell Zeke where she is. Not here. Not when Julian is listening to our conversations. Not even in his house where I’m sure there are more security systems monitoring us than either one of us wants to admit. Sure, we both found some bugs, but there’s more we haven’t found.
Zeke said he would kill me. If it came down to Lucy or me, he would kill me. I understand. That’s what love does. It makes you crazy.
If it comes down to Lucy or me, I hope he does choose Lucy. That’s what love has done to me. I want Zeke to get his happily ever after with the love of his life, even if that isn’t with me.
And I’d rather be dead than live in a world without Zeke.
I can’t keep living in a world where three men try to control me—Julian, Hugo, and Zeke.
I may not be able to do anything about Julian right now.
And I don’t want to do anything about Zeke right now.
But I can do something about Hugo.
Maybe doing something big out in the open, letting Zeke in on one part of the truth
so he understands the sacrifice I’m making for him, will be enough to get him to trust me with Lucy, at least for a moment.
“Lucy’s safe. You don’t have to believe me. Go search for her if you must, but she’s safe. You’re not the only person willing to protect people we love,” I say, coming the closest yet to telling Zeke that I love him.
Zeke shakes his head. “I’m tired of the lies, Siren.”
“It’s not a lie.”
“I can’t trust you. You know the stupid game we play—truth or sin? There is no truth in that game. It’s always sin, even when you choose truth. You’ve never told me the truth. You’re never going to tell me the truth. And at this point, even if you tell me the truth, I won’t believe you.”
I start walking, hoping Zeke will follow me. He does. He’s not finished with this conversation.
We walk half a mile into the jungle on the edge of Julian’s property. It’s not remote enough to tell Zeke the truth about Lucy. Julian could still hear. And as Zeke said, I could tell him the truth, and he wouldn’t believe me anyway.
But we’re far enough away for me to do this.
I pull out my knife.
Zeke laughs. “What? You brought me to the jungle so you can kill me?”
I turn the knife around, holding onto the blade, while holding the handle out to Zeke. He takes it.
Then I turn my back to him and lift my hair up so he can see the three names on my neck.
The first name is Hugo’s. The first name was written with love. I wanted a tattoo of Hugo’s name; I was so in love with him. The last two—Julian’s and Zeke’s—were written out of loyalty and pain. Someday all the names will be gone. But today, I get to remove one with Zeke’s help.
Zeke reaches out and touches the names slowly with his fingers, unable to resist.
Shivers course through me, but I remain still. I will not let him know how his touch affects me.
“Cross out Hugo’s name with the knife,” I command.